Written by

@BobJordanAPP

Towns that employed debris-removal contractors other than a state-hired Florida firm achieved savings that, when totaled, amount to millions of dollars of taxpayer money.

Florida-based AshBritt Inc. charged towns $21.25 per cubic yard to gather roadside debris and bring it to a collection site within 15 miles. That was nearly double the $11.70 asking price of another Florida company, Bergeron, and other firms, records show.

Colts Neck officials chose Bergeron as its primary contractor and the bill for 64,000 cubic yards of debris removal was $754,000. AshBritt’s rate would have produced a $1.37 million tab, said Mayor Michael Fitzgerald.

“We spoke to a lot of contractors, and AshBritt was at the top of the pile in terms of cost,” Fitzgerald said. “If you’re shopping for a car, you try to get away from paying sticker price.”

The town’s total bill for Sandy cleanup is expected to reach $2.2 million, including work by other contractors.

Political ties

AshBritt’s use of politically connected consultants and lobbyists to pitch its services has come under fire from Democrats in the Legislature. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said he is concerned that costs are greater than they should be.

Those who said they marketed the company’s services in the Shore area included George Gilmore, the powerful Ocean County GOP political boss who counts the governor among his friends, and Maggie Moran, former deputy chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie and AshBritt officials have said coastal and bayside towns were in more emergent situations and unable to shop. The state contract was awarded without bidding by the Christie administration days after the storm struck.

But officials from inland towns weren’t the only ones to shop contractors and save on debris costs. Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Little Egg Harbor are among the municipalities that didn’t employ AshBritt. In Avon, where the storm hit hard enough to wreck 178 of the boardwalk’s 600 pilings and cause messes elsewhere, borough officials turned to Lucas Construction of Marlboro for help.

(Page 2 of 3)

Avon is paying $364,000 to Lucas. Since Lucas charged by the ton, there is no precise way to compare its prices to AshBritt’s, but Borough Administrator Tim Gallagher said, “We saved a lot of money.”

One of the most significant savings was achieved in Wall. AshBritt representatives visited after the storm and gave a $2,016,000 price quote to clean up the streets, said Township Administrator Jeff Bertrand.

Wall instead went with a cleanup effort that cost $600,000, primarily by using township employees and other workers.

“If you’re working under emergency contracts, you’re going to pay more,” Bertrand said. “Frankly, if I was in a town decimated by the storm and the municipal building was under water, I might not have had a lot of options. I’m glad we had the chance to save money.”

Christie said none of the 43 towns that dealt with AshBritt has complained about the cost or the work performed. Jared Moskowitz, AshBritt’s general counsel, said the contract is expected to produce $100 million in billings.

Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said the Sandy cleanup bills came to $14 million, $9 million of that going to AshBritt.

“The reimbursement softens it, definitely, but we had to take some short-term notes (loans) to cover the temporary hit to our budget,” Scharfenberger said.

Work subcontracted

AshBritt generally has managed subcontractors who perform the actual cleanup work. Scharfenberger said the results were good.

“We had an overwhelming task and AshBritt was the right choice for us. They provided the work force and equipment to get the job done and have a track record of easing the process of obtaining federal reimbursement,” he said.

Scharfenberger, a Republican, works in the Christie administration as the head of the state Office of Planning Advocacy. He said politics “played no role whatsover” in Middletown’s contracting with AshBritt.

“There was absolutely no pressure,” he said.

(Page 3 of 3)

Scharfenberger said it was Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante’s call.

The decision, Mercantante said, was not about politics, but about cleaning up damage from Sandy quickly.

“We felt like we had to use them for practicality,” he said. “I don’t think anyone knew about the political (connection). We just needed to get some trucks on the ground as soon as possible. The sheer volume of debris was what beyond the volume our staff could handle. Most local contractors were not of the size to handle the amount of debris we had.”

Sweeney, the state’s top Democratic lawmaker, threatened to refer the contract to the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee, which has subpoena power.

AshBritt recently hired a lobbying firm. Moskowitz said Princeton Public Affairs Group will help the company “give a better understanding” of what transpired in the days and weeks after superstorm Sandy hit.

Moskowitz said the prices charged by the company, though higher than competitors after Sandy, “are below FEMA-approved prices from Hurricane Irene.” He also said none of the 43 towns that turned to AshBritt has complained about work quality.

“Towns not devastated by the storm that did not have the same cleanup mission and didn’t have the same urgency as some of the Shore towns could shop around, but those comparisons of town experiences are apples and oranges,” Moskowitz said.

The lobbying firm was hired to connect with lawmakers “to provide a better understanding of what we do,” Moskowitz said. “We want the opportunity to meet with any senator or Assembly member to go over our service and answer all questions. Why wait for an oversight committee and a formal vetting maybe six weeks from now? We’d be happy to answer all questions right now.”